A Study on the Ideology of Commoners Reflected in Ming and Qing Dynasty Mural Paintings: Focusing on the Murals of the Guanyin Hall at the Baozang Temple on Mount Wutai

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21935
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0101:Philosophy, art, and related fields
• Research Institution: Chuo University
• Principal Investigator: Shinohara Norio 中央大学, 総合政策学部, 准教授 (10882392)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 寺院壁画 / 施餓鬼 / 民間信仰 / 西遊記 / 救抜焰口餓鬼陀羅尼 / 観音信仰

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The mural paintings within the Guanyin Hall of Baozang Temple in Shanxi Province, China, have undergone scrutiny, revealing a thematic focus on service for the benefit of suffering spirits. Alongside traditional Buddhist motifs such as reverence for Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and the Eighteen Arhats, these murals convey the virtues and rewards of charitable acts through narrative elements reminiscent of literary classics like "Journey to the West." The main image depicts the "Enkugaki"as an object that receives almsgiving.
Furthermore, a correlation is proposed between the composition of the mural paintings in the Guanyin Hall of Baozang Temple and the Dharani Sutra of the Gubatu-enku-gaki Dharani, a text passed down by the Obaku school in Japan. This observation suggests a potential avenue for exploring the interplay of Buddhist beliefs across early modern East Asia.

Free Research Field

中国考古学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は中国明清時代の寺観壁画の内容を多角的に考察し、東アジア近世仏教信仰の実像を明らかにしようと試みたものである。中国山西省宝蔵寺観音殿壁画を対象にした研究では中国仏教の信仰内容の検討にとどまらず、日本仏教や民間信仰、明清小説などの領域から広く考察し、東アジア地域の民衆のあいだに広く共有されていた信仰について一定の内容を明らかにした。
特に施餓鬼についてこれまで知られていなかった新たな材料を提供すことができた。